Four years ago, he returned to the palace with “Empress Ronghua’s” body, defying the court officials to bury her in the Imperial Garden.
That night, the garden blazed with fire.
The palace servants rushed to extinguish it, only to see crimson flames illuminating the man’s handsome yet shadowed face, tinged with an eerie, almost demonic allure.
With a single torch, he burned all the white crabapple flowers to ashes.
He declared them Empress Ronghua’s burial offerings.
Since then, no new flower varieties entered the Imperial Garden.
Even when some suggested replanting white crabapples in her name, or argued that the princess loved a fragrant garden, he rejected every plea.
He insisted on honoring that woman in this way.
Mu Qingshuang closed her eyes and let out a bitter laugh.
Pity, even the body he brought back was a fake.
Pity, Empress Ronghua would never know his devotion.
That woman had likely died long ago in some forgotten corner—the poison Mu Qingshuang had laced on that arrow could pierce the heart and lungs in an instant, slowly incinerating the victim’s organs.
Even if that damned nine-tailed fox had whisked her away, she couldn’t have survived.
Mu Qingshuang tugged at her lips.
A flurry of palace servants hurried past. She frowned, “What’s the rush?”
A young eunuch quickly replied, “Lady Mu, His Majesty ordered us to gather all varieties of crabapple flowers by tomorrow!”
Mu Qingshuang froze.
He wanted… to plant new flowers in the Imperial Garden?
After a trip to Xiliang, had he finally let go of Empress Ronghua?
Biting her lip, her heart swirled with a mix of sourness and joy. She quickened her pace toward Longyin Palace.
Four years—she’d finally waited it out…
Suddenly, a dark figure in the distance caught her eye.
Her heart skipped a beat, but then she noticed two others beside Xiao Hanjin. The man’s sharp, refined profile stood out, while the woman faced away, her features hidden.
Fenghua spotted her first, his gaze laced with coldness. “This… is she one of His Majesty’s consorts?”
Before she could process his hostility, the other two turned as well.
Xiao Hanjin’s face shifted when he saw her, swiftly glancing at Empress Ronghua. “Ronghua, she’s not.”
“Oh…” Empress Ronghua chuckled, squinting at the woman in light blue. “No title, perhaps, but close enough. Years of affection, and Lady Mu happens to live in the palace.”
Their eyes met across the distance.
Mu Qingshuang’s widened in shock, as if struck by lightning.
That smiling, delicate face matched the one from her endless nightmares.
Xiao Hanjin had called her “Ronghua.”
So she was… Empress Ronghua?!
No, impossible!
Mu Qingshuang’s face drained of color, her body rigid as her nails dug into her palms.
“I said she’s not,” Xiao Hanjin’s voice darkened abruptly, his black gaze fixed on Empress Ronghua. “She never lived in the palace before I left Beixi. I don’t know when she arrived—don’t overthink it, alright?”
Empress Ronghua glanced at him, her red lips curving elegantly. “Though Your Majesty’s kindness is hard to refuse, I’ve thought it over and decided it’s inconvenient to stay. Fenghua, let’s go.”
Xiao Hanjin’s pupils constricted.
Watching her turn away, he instinctively lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her. His hoarse, frantic voice pleaded, “Ronghua, I’ll make her leave right now. Whoever let her in, I’ll punish them severely. Please don’t go, okay?”
